Pinnacle Security Faces Fraud Charges In Missouri

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has filed consumer fraud charges against Pinnacle Security, LLC, headquartered in Orem, Utah.

The company is accused of defrauding Missouri consumers by using deception when selling home security products and services in St. Louis County and other areas in the state.

“Consumers should be very cautious when approached by people selling home improvement services door-to-door,” Koster said.  “Unfortunately, there are always those who will take advantage of unsuspecting consumers, but scammers should be assured that this office will aggressively pursue anyone who tries to defraud trusting Missourians out of their hard-earned money.”

Not true

Koster said Pinnacle representatives would approach consumers who had an existing home security system and falsely represent they were there to upgrade the current system.  The representatives led consumers to believe that Pinnacle had acquired the company who provided their existing security system or that their existing security system company had gone bankrupt. That was the scenario often reported to ConsumerAffairs.com.

"I was approached by a very nice young man, knocking at my door, and said he was in the neighborhood informing all ADT customers that Pinnacle would be taking over all ADT accounts in the Ripon area," Roberta, of Ripon, Calif., told ConsumerAffairs.com.

At the same time, consumers were often presented with a prepared contract that supposedly authorized system upgrades, but actually authorized installation of Pinnacle home security products.

Pinnacle has faced similar charges in recent years in Illinois, Ohio and New York. In a settlement with Illinois last year, Pinnacle Security agreed to inform consumers that they may have to pay a termination fee if they currently have a contract with another home security company.

Bogus promises

Koster said Pinnacle made numerous, bogus promises to Missouri consumers, such as telling them their monthly bill would not increase, the system included a “panic” alarm pendant in the event the consumer fell or was injured, and the consumer would receive three months of free services.

He says Pinnacle reps even told consumers that their homeowner’s insurance would pay a portion of the cost of service fees, the security system would include a “carbon monoxide” monitoring system, and the consumer could cancel within 30 days without financial penalty – none of which was true.

When consumers discovered the deception and tried to cancel, Koster said Pinnacle would not refund their money, and, in fact, threatened legal action if they didn’t continue to pay.

Koster is asking the court to issue preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting further violations of the law; to require the defendant to provide full restitution to victims and pay all court and investigative costs; and to require defendant pay the state a civil penalty and an amount equal to 10 percent of total restitution ordered.